There have been conflicting reports about the backstage brawl that transpired after All Out. Both sides have claimed that the other threw the first punch and that they were not responsible for the whole thing coming to blows. The only thing that has been clear since the beginning is that both CM Punk and The Elite had a physical fight.
The latest Wrestling Observer Newsletter provided an update on how things transpired. They noted that all the versions of the story point towards Punk throwing the first punch:
“Both sides and every version is that Punk threw the first punch, that a fight broke out, and that Guy hit Nick Jackson in the eye with a chair very hard and bit Omega and pulled his hair.”
The motivation behind CM Punk’s action was that he believed a fight was unavoidable. Punk thought that punches would be thrown so he ‘beat them to the inevitable punch’ that Matt Jackson was going to throw:
“Those close to the other side labelled it as a sucker punch. From the (Ace) Steel standpoint it was about protecting his wife, who had a broken foot and was in the room, although escalating the fight and using a weapon has to be questioned for a producer with that in mind with his wife in the room.”
